JLLT Tenth Anniversary Issue (2020)

Articles

Günter Schmale (Lyon, France):

Polyfactoriality as a Defining Criterion of Formulaic Speech 

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 9-28 (PDF) 

Abstract

Starting from the observation that the criteria generally applied to the definition of formulaic speech – polylexicality, (relative) stability and idiomaticity – no longer reflect the current state-of-the-art insight into the nature of prefabricated speech productions (and understanding), the present paper discusses a revised vision of formulaicity taking the pivotal defining criterion of polyfactoriality as its basis. This notion permits to take into account segmental, prosodic, corporal, contextual and situational elements in order to define an utterance or one of its units as being formulaic, even when it consists of one lexical item only. This notion also permits to considerably extend the scope of formulaic communicative manifestations, ranging from monolexical routine formula via sentence-based proverbs to formulaic texts and even to communicative events. As a hyperonym, polyfactoriality  equally is characterized by relative stability through its smallest common formulaic denominator, its semantic non-compositionality (due to its idiomatic footprint), and its multimodal character. Based on these reflections, a revised definition of the notion of formulaic sequence will be put forward.

Andreea Calude (Hamilton, New Zealand) & Gerald Delahunty (Fort Collins, CO, USA):

'Just because' Constructions in Spoken and Written New Zealand English

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 29-51 (PDF) 

Abstract

Just because (JB) is widely used and has been a target of commentary and humorous use by English speakers and aroused some interest among linguists, who have investigated its syntax, semantics, and derivation. Some, based on researcher constructed data, have proposed construction analyses (Hirose 1991, Bender and Kathol 2001). Another (Hilpert 2005: 97), using a diachronic corpus, proposes that JB has been grammaticalized as a concessive marker via "the discourse function of inference denial." Our study, based on a corpus of New Zealand written and spoken English, demonstrates, amongst other significant findings, that JB occurs in a far broader set of grammatical contexts than the earlier literature recognizes, that JB constructions are significantly more frequent in spoken than in written English, that JB adverbial clauses are more likely to occur in pre-posed than in post-posed position, that the meaning of just because affects this distribution, that just because is far more likely to be followed by a clause than a prepositional phrase, and that JB constructions are extremely likely to occur in the discourse context of a negator.

Heinz-Helmut Lüger (Koblenz-Landau, Deutschland):

Subjektivität und Sprachgebrauch – Anregungen Michel Bréals für eine linguistische Pragmatik?

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 53-69 (PDF) 

Abstract (English)

The role of Michel Bréal in the development of modern linguistics is judged very differently. Is Bréal the "inventor" of the word semantics (Touratier 2000), can his Essai de sémantique from 1897 even be considered as revolutionary (Tamba-Mecz 1988) or as the foundation of a new linguistic sub-discipline (Schmehl 2006)? Or did Bréal merely continue the tradition of historical-comparative linguistics (Brekle 1972) and produce hardly anything new (Coseriu 2000)? Irrespective of these assessments, the following article will examine to what extent a first approach towards linguistic pragmatics can be found in Bréal’s works. The focus will be on the reflections made on L'élément subjectif in his Essai de sémantique. At the same time, a chapter of this work will be presented in German translation for the first time.

Abstract (Français)

Le rôle de Michel Bréal dans le développement de la linguistique moderne est jugé de manière très différente. Bréal est-il "l'inventeur" du mot sémantique (Touratier 2000), son Essai de sémantique de 1897 peut-il même être considéré comme révolutionnaire (Tamba-Mecz 1988) ou comme le fondement d'une nouvelle sous-discipline linguistique (Schmehl 2006) ? Ou bien Bréal a-t-il simplement poursuivi la tradition de la linguistique comparative historique (Brekle 1972) et n'a-t-il pratiquement rien produit de nouveau (Coseriu 2000) ? Indépendamment de ces évaluations, cet article examinera la question de savoir dans quelle mesure on peut trouver les premières approches de la pragmatique linguistique dans l’oeuvre de Bréal. Pour ce faire, l'accent est mis sur les commentaires de L'élément subjectif de l'Essai de sémantique. En même temps, un chapitre de cet écrit est, pour la première fois, présenté en traduction allemande .

Shing-lung Chen (Kaohsiung, Taiwan):

Zur Konzipierung von Spielen im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 71-88 (PDF) 

Abstract (Deutsch)

Gemäß Jan & Chang (2018) sollen im Unterricht nicht nur Sprachkenntnisse vermittelt, sondern auch Fähigkeiten wie z.B. Kreativität, induktive Fähigkeiten und Problemlösungsfähigkeiten ausgebildet werden. Zur Zeit spielen die Lerner im Unterricht meist traditionelle fremdsprachlich orientierte Spiele und lernen eher passiv. In dem vorliegenden Artikel sollen die Lerner in einem ersten Versuch anhand einen gegebenen Lerninhaltes selbst ein fremdsprachliches Spiel entwickeln. Dabei können sie sowohl ihre Sprachkenntnisse zum Einsatz bringen als auch ihre Kreativität entwickeln. Die meisten fremdsprachlichen Spiele beschränken sich auf das Lernen des Wortschatzes oder auf die Satzbildung. Das Ziel des Fremdsprachenlernens besteht jedoch darin, in der Fremdsprache zu kommunizieren. In diesem Beitrag werden Spiele zu Förderung der fremdsprachlichen Kommunikation anhand des Design Thinking-Modells von Lernern selbst entwickelt. Anschließend wird mittels einer Umfrage analysiert, inwiefern das Entwickeln von Spielen die Lernmotivation, den Lernerfolg und die Problemlösungsfähigkeiten  der Lerner erhöhen kann.

Abstract (English)

According to Jan & Chang (2018), not only language skills should be imparted in class, but also skills such as creativity, inductive skills and problem-solving skills should be trained. At present, learners mostly play traditional foreign language oriented games in class and learn rather passively. In this article, learners are supposed to develop a foreign language game themselves, based on a given learning content. They can use their language skills as well as develop their creativity. Most foreign language games are limited to learning vocabulary or building sentences. However, the goal of foreign language learning is to communicate in the foreign language. In the present article, games to promote foreign language communication are developed by learners themselves, based on the Design Thinking model. Subsequently, a survey is used to analyze to what extent the designing of games can increase learners’ motivation, success and problem-solving skills.

Ulrich Schmitz (Duisburg-Essen, Deutschland):

Fremde Sprachen lernen durch die Lektüre öffentlicher Räume 

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 89-98 (PDF) 

Abstract  (Deutsch)

Öffentliche Räume bieten ein ideales Gerüst zur Unterstützung beim Erlernen fremder Sprachen (scaffolding), denn hier erscheinen kurze, oft standardisierte und in leichten Variationen häufig wiederholte Texte an Stellen, deren vorstrukturierter situativer Kontext nur wenige Deutungen zulässt. Oft geben international verständliche semiotische Gestaltung (Textdesign, Typographie, Farbe) sowie zugehörige realistische oder ikonische Bilder zusätzliche Hinweise zur Entzifferung der Bedeutung. Außerdem erscheinen manche Zeichen im öffentlichen Raum mehrsprachig, so dass man im Idealfall von einer bereits bekannten auf eine noch unbekannte Sprache schließen kann. So können Anfänger öffentliche Plätze, Straßen und Gebäude als ersten immersiven Einstieg in ein fremdes Sprachbad nutzen, Fortgeschrittene aber als einen zusätzlichen Weg, neue Vokabeln und Wendungen zu lernen. In diesem Beitrag werden anhand konkreter Beispiele vier didaktisch-methodische Settings dafür vorgestellt. Hier geht es um Deutsch als Fremdsprache; das Modell lässt sich jedoch ebenso gut auf andere Sprachen in anderen Ländern übertragen.

Abstract (English)

Public spaces provide an ideal framework to support learning foreign languages (scaffolding). This approach is fruitful because short, often standardized texts (sometimes repeated in slight variations) appear in places whose pre-structured situational context only permits limited interpretations. Internationally understandable semiotic designs (text design, typography, color) as well as realistic or iconic pictures often provide additional clues for learners to decipher meanings. In addition, some signs in public spaces are multilingual, so that ideally, learners can transfer knowledge from a language already known to a new language. In this way, beginners can use public places, streets and buildings as a first immersive introduction to a foreign language, while advanced learners can use them as an additional way to learn new vocabulary and phrases. In this article, four methodological settings are presented and exemplified. the target being German as a foreign language. However, the model presented here can just as well be transferred to other languages in other countries.

Terry Lamb (London, UK):

Supplementary Schools as Spaces of Hope for a More Inclusive World: Challenging Exclusion and Social Injustice in Multilingual London 

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 99-127 (PDF) 

Abstract

Following a contextualisation of multilingual London, I will explore the ways in which many of London’s – and indeed the UK’s – language communities and the languages they speak suffer marginalisation and exclusion. Based on an exploration of language education policy, the article employs the construct of “monolingual habitus” (Gogolin 2002), which, whilst tending to monolingualise multilingualism, also offers insights into how the habitus might be shifted. Despite the structural forces at play, I argue that, through their supplementary schools, the language communities themselves can be conceived of as “spaces of hope”, able to challenge the constraints they encounter in order to ensure that their languages continue to be spoken and learnt. I support this argument by first considering their creative educational and cultural practices, and then the ways in which they act as spaces of resistance to the challenges they face. However, I also maintain that they have the potential to play a role in shifting the monolingual habitus beyond their communities, co-creating a more linguistically inclusive society. Further research is needed, however, to understand the processes that may be conducive to this shift and lead to a more inclusive and socially just world. 

Wai Meng Chan (Singapore):

“I think I can see from another perspective now” – Short-Term Study Abroad and Intercultural Development

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 129-154 (PDF) 

Abstract

Foreign language study abroad has the potential to contribute to learners’ culture learning and the cultivation of their intercultural competence, as it gives them first-hand experience in the target-language country and allows them to discover and partake in the local community’s sociocultural practices. This article presents a study of the impact of two short-term study abroad programmes in Germany on the intercultural development of German-language students from a Singapore university language centre. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach and collected both quantitative and qualitative data through pre- / post-programme questionnaires, journals, interviews, activity observations and document inspections. The data were analysed based on Byram’s (1997, 2008) model of intercultural competence, as well as Lave & Wenger’s (1991) Situated Learning Theory and their notion of legitimate peripheral participation. The findings suggest that the study abroad programmes, or “In-Country Language Immersions”, benefited learners in the development of the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for the cultivation of critical cultural awareness and intercultural competence. It was further found that such positive development is often precipitated by the learners’ legitimate peripheral participation in the local communities, although it is dependent on their motivation and willingness to take up such opportunities for interaction and participation.

Ines de Florio-Hansen (Kassel, Germania):

L’insegnamento dell’italiano in Germania nell’era digitale 

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching 10th Anniversary Issue, 155-180 (PDF) 

Abstract (Deutsch)

Der Fokus des folgenden Beitrags über den Italienischunterricht in Deutschland liegt auf Digitalisierung, Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) und Robotik. Diese Bereiche müssen nicht nur mit Blick auf das Lernen hier und jetzt stärker berücksichtigt werden, sondern sind auch für das spätere Leben der Schülerinnen und Schüler ausschlaggebend. Es wird aufgezeigt, wann das Lernen mit Hilfe digitaler Medien sinnvoll und erfolgversprechend ist. Über die Mediendidaktik hinaus geht es aber vor allem um Medienpädagogik, d.h. um den Beitrag, den der Italienischunterricht zur Ausbildung von Medienkompetenz bzw. Medienbildung leisten kann. Den Ausgangspunkt bilden die Veröffentlichungen der KMK, der Referenzrahmen der Europäischen Kommission zu den Digitalen Kompetenzen von Lehrpersonen sowie kurze Hinweise auf die Vorgaben der Kultusbehörden einzelner Bundesländer. Im unterrichtspraktischen Teil werden zunächst wichtige Möglichkeiten aufgezeigt, die sich durch das Internet und das World Wide Web (WWW) für den Italienischunterricht ergeben. Aufgrund der rasanten Entwicklung der elektronischen Technologien genügt es nicht länger, sich auf Digitalisierung zu beschränken. Bereiche der KI und der Robotik sind angemessen einzubeziehen. Zum einen müssen die Schülerinnen und Schüler lernen, das Potential dieser Werkzeuge zu verstehen und für sich auszuschöpfen; zum anderen legt die Globalisierung einen internationalen Austausch über den Nutzen und die Gefahren elektronischer Medien unter (italienischen und deutschen) Jugendlichen nahe.  

Abstract (English)

The following article focuses on digitization, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics with regards to teaching Italian in Germany. These areas need to be given greater consideration not only with regard to learning here and now, but also for students’ future lives. It is shown how learning by means of digital media is meaningful and promising. In addition to media methodology, however, it is above all about media pedagogy, i.e. the contribution which the teaching of Italian can make to training students’ media literacy or media education. Our starting point are the publications of the German Conference of Ministers of Education (German: Kultusministerkonferenz; KMK), the European Commission's reference framework on the digital competences of teachers, as well as brief references to the requirements of the cultural authorities of individual German federal states. With regards to practical teaching, interesting opportunities for teaching that arise from the Internet are first shown. Due to the rapid development of electronic technologies, it no longer suffices to limit oneself to digitalisation. What may even be more important is to address relevant areas of Artificial Intelligence and robotics. On the one hand, students must learn to understand and make the best use of the potential of these tools; on the other hand, globalisation implies international exchanges of ideas on the benefits and dangers of electronic media among young (Italian and German) learners.